


The Color Blue

by one_neet_writer



Series: Neet One-Shots and Drabbles [2]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Dad Quirin AU, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gaslighting, Hurt Varian (Disney), Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Torture, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sad Varian (Disney), Suicidal Thoughts, Unhealthy Relationships, Varian Needs a Hug (Disney), Victim Blaming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:35:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23410312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_neet_writer/pseuds/one_neet_writer
Summary: ‘I really hate the color blue,’ Varian decided as he laid there on his back blankly staring up at the clear blue sky.In short, its a story about Varian's relationship with his "loving" father.
Relationships: Quirin & Varian (Disney)
Series: Neet One-Shots and Drabbles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1759507
Comments: 36
Kudos: 201





	1. Chapter 1

‘I really hate the color blue,’ Varian decided as he laid there on his back blankly staring up at the clear blue sky. It mockingly beamed down happily as if he wasn’t lying on the ground covered in injuries. 

A part of him knew he was going to have to move soon, but his body was screaming out in pain. He was sure there was something broken this time and that he was just going to have to deal with it... again.

What was it this time?

Was it another invention that had gone wrong?

Or was it the fact he accidentally bumped into someone?

Or did he try to correct someone when they said he was a wizard?

Or was it simply because he was walking on by?

The excuses blurred together into an endless haze that Varian gave up in trying to find reason in it. No matter what happened, he already knew the ending result. For once, the alchemist who strived to find logic in everything failed to find logic in the reason why he was constantly on the ground and finding himself looking at the sky.

That same clear happy blue sky that encouraged people that there are so many possibilities open to them. The options are endless. However, the sky for him only presented that false illusion

Having enough of the sky, Varian slowly pushed himself to sit upright despite the screaming in his joints and the burning pains in the cuts across his body. 

Right... someone had found a particularly sharp rock which they had a particularly fun time tearing open new wounds across his body.

A small sigh escaped his lips as Varian pushed himself off the ground and began to make his way home. Though his clothes did hide most of his wounds and the severity of it, it didn’t matter. 

Despite his feet feeling like they were made of lead and the wounds, Varian forced himself to take each step through Old Corona to his home. He kept his head down trying to somehow hide from the sneering looks of the villagers. He bet if he raised his head and looked, he would be able to see the disgust written across their faces, as well as a sadistic glint in their eyes, seeing the beaten and broken state he was in this time. 

Not a single eye looked at him with sympathy as he was well regarded as a danger and threat to Old Corona. They wished nothing more for the stain to be gone. 

At least, he managed to get back home in a relatively reasonable time before pushing the door open and shutting him behind him. 

“I’m home,” Varian whispered out though he didn’t expect anyone but silence to greet him back. 

He needed to go take a bath and clean himself up before-

“Varian?” 

His body immediately tensed up hearing his father’s voice and his head immediately hung down, unable to look his father in the eyes. 

“H-Hi Dad.” 

“What the-” He could hear his dad run over to him. The way he looked over the noticeable bruises and cuts across his body this time. 

“Dad, I’m-“

“Did I give you permission to speak?” Quirin’s voice abruptly cut Varian off as Varian stiffened. 

He messed up.

“N-No sir,” Varian muttered out. “I’m sorry.”

“Better,” Quirin gave a nod of approval before leaning back and letting out a clear sigh of disappointment. “What happened? What did you do this time?”

Tears welled up at the edge of his eyes, but Varian did his best to keep it at bay. He wasn’t going to cry despite the fact he wanted to. He wanted to plead his case saying it wasn’t his fault- but that would make his dad angry...

“I’m sorry, Dad,” he merely apologized, clutching his pants. “I messed up again.”

“Yes. I can see that,” Quirin flatly replied with clear judgment and disappointment in his tone. “And what about what I asked you?”

“H-Huh?” Varian couldn’t help but stutter out admittingly confused. 

“The apples. I asked you to get apples from the orchard.”

Ah... Varian forgot... that’s why he was in trouble this time. 

After gathering the apples from the orchard, he was traveling back to the house when he tripped over something (or perhaps someone) and fell to the ground spilling the apples on the ground. 

Like starving wolves pouncing upon their prey, they latched onto his clumsiness before yelling at him. 

How dare he waste precious food like that! How dare he trip and let the apples spill everywhere. It’s not good to waste!

He barely remembered what happened after that. He began to disassociate from his body running through mental equations through his head ignoring the kicks to the chest and the yanking of his hair. Ignoring the fact that the bruises and wounds that had yet to heal from last time only grew worse. 

Eventually, they got bored and left him lying on the ground and gave him scornful looks. 

Varian’s arms began to tremble as he shut his eyes tightly. 

“I-I’m sorry. I-I spilled the apples. I-It’s my fault,” Varian said. “I-I forgot to go back and grab more.”

“Not again, Varian.”

The clear disappointment in his dad’s voice twisted the knife of guilt in his heart. His chest felt like it was collapsing in on itself and something was slowly squeezing out all the air inside of him. He was trying to breathe normally but it was becoming harder and harder to breathe by the second. 

Arms gently wrapped around his body despite the fact Varian was clearly hurt and it only caused him more pain... and Varian couldn’t handle it anymore

He threw his arms around his father hugging him back as tightly as he could as tears streak down his face. 

“D-Dad! I-I’m so sorry!” 

“So you understand how it is your fault? You shouldn’t have tripped and spilled the apples wasting such a valuable resource,” Quirin gently scolded in such a soft tone as he gave such a gentle pat on his son's back despite the fact Varian was clearly wincing every time Quirin did so. 

“Y-Yes! I-I’m sorry, Dad. I-I spilled the apples and it’s all my fault,” Varian repeated clutching tightly to his father. 

“You know I love you, right? Or else I would have thrown you out all these years ago,” Quirin assured, continuing the gentle hug and warm embrace. “I would have not allowed you to stay here and live here under a roof and clothes. You still get to do the experiments you love so much even though they are failures. You are so lucky to be such a fortunate child despite the disappointment you bring. It’s okay though, your father loves you so much, right?”

“Yes Dad,” Varian sobbed, clinging to his dad as his heart raced with fear. “You love me so much despite how much of a disappointment I am... please don’t abandon me. I-I don’t want to leave you please.”

“Of course, I would never abandon you,” Quirin assured. “I am the only one who can love such a filthy and shameful child after all. You are my son no matter how much you mess up.”

A relieved yet broken smile crept onto Varian’s face as he slowly moved back.

“I-I’m sorry for being so filthy and shameful,” he parroted back. 

“I know,” Quirin said before standing up. “Because of you, I have to go get the apples myself. Go clean up and prepare dinner. However, you aren’t allowed any supper tonight as punishment for not bringing back the apples.”

Varian lowered his head in shame. That's right. It's his fault. He couldn't complete such a simple and easy task as bringing back the apples. No wonder his father is disappointed in him. 

“Yes, sir...”

“You know I would never hit you right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m not like the other villagers. I don’t try to hurt you at all. But I do have to still punish you for not completing the task. That’s only because I love you so much.” Quirn walked to the door opening it up. “Make sure to clean up and work on dinner by the time I get back. I love you, son.”

“I love you too, Dad. I’m sorry for making you do my job,” Varian sniffled. 

“It’s okay. I had a feeling I had to do it anyway.”

The door slammed shut leaving Varian alone in the emptiness of the house. A part of Varian wanted to collapse on the floor and cry, but his father- his very kind and loving father- trusted him to do something for him. If his dad didn’t have faith in him even retrieving apples, he needed to make sure his dad didn’t lose any more faith in him than he already did. His dad was so nice allowing him to stay despite the disappointment he is. It was the least he could do.

Forcing himself up the stairs despite the excruciating pain, Varian managed to stumble into the bathroom. Today, it was a bit harder to turn on the water and fill the bathtub with water. 

The water was cold, but it didn’t matter. 

He couldn’t waste precious firewood his father worked so hard to gather to selfishly warm up the water. 

Shredding his clothes off, Varian turned off the faucet before staring at the dull blue water. The clear waters that were crystal and shimmer blue when outside but dull when he filled the tub. 

His reflection stared back at him with those dull blue eyes and that abomination of a blue hairstreak mocked him more than the bruise on his face. 

Everything was just blue… That stripe, those eyes, even his clothes were all that cursed color blue. 

He hated it.

He hated the color blue so much…

Tearing himself away from the reflection, Varian slipped inside the bathtub letting out a small cry of pain as his wounds shrieked in pain. 

He couldn’t wait til he actually began to clean the dirt from the wounds. That would be fun. 

And for a moment, Varian let himself relax and lean back despite the fact his back was also covered in bruises. The cuts across his body leaked out blood that began to pollute the water. Tears escaped his eyes as he stared up at the dull brown ceiling. 

Why did he have to be such a screw up?

Why couldn’t he make his father proud of him? 

Why did he always have to be such a mess? 

Varian didn’t have answers to any of these questions. 

He just knew that in the end, it was all his fault and there was nothing he could do to change that fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. I have been in a mood to write just poor Varian ends up being the victim.  
> By the way, there are no real connection points between each chapter and I'm simply posting things I wrote. I won't promise that I will finish anything, but there are two other things I wrote that I will be posting over the next several days.  
> Anyways, hope you like this one and tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

“A-Ah.. Thank you for bringing me back home,” Varian gave a small smile at Eugene and Rapunzel despite the knife in his heart twisting with guilt. “Sorry for the trouble.”

“It’s no problem! Besides, how else are we going to be able to bring back this beautiful painting we did together?!” Rapunzel gestured behind her at the cart. “You know, you should be an artist! You’re really good at it, Varian!”

A small and nervous chuckle left Varian’s lips as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“I dunno. I really would prefer to work on my alchemy…” Varian admitted with a small sheepish smile. 

Unbeknownst to the alchemist, this was a more than a simple trip to ensure he got home safely. Rapunzel and Eugene sensed something was incredibly wrong with Varian when he was cleaning the mess up with the Science Expo. 

Rapunzel and Eugene weren’t expecting for Varian to still be there cleaning up the mess from the expo.

“Varian? What are you doing here?” Rapunzel called out placing a hand on Varian. 

The rather violent flinch as the young boy whipped around with wide eyes- was that a glint of fear in them?

“Oh,” Varian muttered as he became much more relaxed as a smile grew on his face. It was a bit forced, but a smile nonetheless. “Rapunzel. Eugene. Sorry, I didn’t see you.”

Eugene had to take a little pause and raise an eyebrow in confusion. Varian was implying that somehow, the fact they accidentally scared Varian was his own fault. It somehow was giving him a strange sense of deja vu for whatever reason. 

“What are you doing here, kid? You should go home. We can clean up the mess,” Eugene said.

“No!” Varian shouted with his eyes widened before he blinked and quickly began to backtrack. “S-sorry. I didn’t mean to shout. I mean, i-its fine. I have to finish cleaning up my mess before I get back home. I-I already let my dad know and all so-”

“Wait a second,” Rapunzel said as she couldn’t help but feel confused. “You didn’t cause the mess. We all know that guy messed with your invention. It’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is,” Varian insisted as he gripped onto his arm and his eyes trailed away. “I should have been standing by my machine making sure nobody messed with it- or that I-”

“Hey, that’s not your fault,” Eugene assured. “Didn’t you warn that jerk not to do that, but he did anyways?”

“Yes, but-”

“It’s not your fault,” Rapunzel reaffirmed as Varian squirmed in place looking very hesitant. “So go home. It is getting late and I’m sure your dad is worried.”

“I would rather stay and clean up,” Varian repeated though he was clearly on edge. “It’s the least someone like me could do.”

“What do you mean?” Eugene had a bad feeling about this. It was giving him warning signals

Varian’s body language suddenly shifted as blue eyes suddenly glassed over and dulled before he glanced down at the ground. He seemed to shrink a little as if automatically trying to avoid being noticed. The kid they have gotten to see the past several times had suddenly disappeared and replaced with someone who was a shell of that.

“I’m sorry for causing a mess. I’ll make sure to clean up my mess,” Varian apologized, clutching his arm tightly. “I’m sorry for being such a filthy mess and disappointment.”

Hearing those words sent a chill down their spine and immediately, Rapunzel couldn’t help but immediately wrapped her arms around Varian who didn’t raise his arms to hug back. Hell, Eugene even joined in because those words were haunting to hear from a child. 

“Varian. You are nothing like that. Don’t you ever say such a thing,” Rapunzel clutched to him tightly pouring every single ounce of love into that hug. “What would ever make you say such a thing?”

Her question seemed to snap Varian out of whatever phase he was as if realizing what he said before he promptly shoved Rapunzel away and his breaths came out in short pants. There was horror and shock written across his face with tears in his eyes. 

“I-I… I’m sorry I said too much,” Varian stuttered out taking a step back. “Please forget what happened.”

Before Rapunzel or Eugene could speak a single word of protest, the kid had turned and stumbled as he ran away. 

“Varian!” Eugene shouted, but his call only caused Varian to run off faster. He clutched his hands into fists as a wave of determination filled his being, and he knew Rapunzel felt the same. “Rapunzel. We are going to get to the bottom of this.”

“Agree.”

Honestly, Eugene and Rapunzel considered the mere fact that Varian came to the castle when they had requested him a miracle and a win. During that time, they kept a very close eye on Varian looking for any sign of that kid that was shown to them that day. 

But for whatever reason, he didn’t appear. Varian seemed like the same kid who was all smiles and wore his heart on his sleeve. Eugene would have thought that was all to it if Varian didn’t reveal that side to them by accident. He had completely begun to disassociate during that time as if he wasn’t talking to them… 

Eugene had a sinking feeling that this problem had to originate back at home which Rapunzel agreed. They didn’t seem to appear when they were out. Now that he thought about it, Eugene did think it was rather odd that Varian had flinched when he was touched on the arm or the look of disbelief when Eugene said he was a “good kid.” As if Varian was confused as to why Eugene would call him that. 

So, they decided that they would make the excuse of escorting Varian home because Varian was out late and they wanted to assure his dad that everything was fine. However, it wasn’t until Rapunzel insisted that she didn’t want the frame to break that Varian agreed for whatever reason. Neither of them could get a good reading on what was running through the kid’s head.

“We’re here,” Rapunzel said as she hopped off the cart and the boy followed. 

“I got the painting,” Eugene added with a grin. “Man, seriously kid. You got a knack for so many things. I’m almost jealous.”

“Y-Yeah. It’s just I really like to learn about a lot of things,” Varian let out a small and half-hearted chuckle as they approached the door. It wasn’t noticeable to most, but Eugene noticed the slight hesitancy in his step before knocking on the door. 

“Dad, I’m home!” Varian called out knocking a few times in an almost rhythmic pattern. “The Princess and Eugene are here.”

Eugene raised an eyebrow confused. Varian had to knock on the door and announce from outside that they were here?

Varian must have sensed his confusion as he glanced back and as a smile grew on his lips. 

“My dad is sometimes out in the plantation, so it’s better if I called for him just in case,” he assured Eugene though that smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. It was a smile that anyone could easily buy if they haven’t seen the warm and sunny smiles the kid was capable of producing.

“Varian?” they nearly jumped as they glanced back to see Quirin standing there with a pumpkin in his hand. He glanced between the two before giving a respectful bow of his head. “My apologies, Your Highness. I didn’t expect you were coming here. Is something the matter?”

It seemed like an innocent question, but there was a slight accusatory question. 

“Oh no, of course not!” Rapunzel assured him, waving her hand as Quirin made his way to the door. “Varian came to the castle today and we worked on a painting together. I really love how it turned out and I think that Varian should keep it.”

“I see,” Quirin said in an almost dismissive tone. He set down the pumpkin inside before a smile settled on the grown man’s face as he placed a hand on Varian’s shoulder. And as if on instinct, the Varian that they were used to seeing had seemed to slip away from their fingers as someone else had stood in their place. “Isn’t that nice of the Princess to spend her entire day with you? And she even let you work with her and keep that painting she loves. Not to mention, they even escorted you all the way back here. What do you say?” 

“Thank you so much, Princess,” Varian replied as if he was programmed to. 

This cemented it. Eugene knew that Quirin was the cause of the problem for how Varian turned into that shell. He had to be. Though the words Quirin had weren’t anything bad on the surface, Eugene knew better. The tone of Quirin’s voice didn’t hold the slightest bit of warmth in it and sounded like he was talking to a very young kid rather than a 14 year old. And the hand that Quirin placed on Varian’s shoulder wasn’t one out of love but rather cementing who was in control. 

However, there was nothing substantial to tear Varian away from this situation. Nothing yet. 

“It’s no problem, Varian. If you want to ever come paint with me, feel free to drop by anytime,” Rapunzel smiled brightly at him. 

“I…” Varian looked slightly conflicted before sneaking a glance at his father who simply smiled down at him. Varian’s eyes slightly widened before he quickly glanced away and had a smile on his face. “If I have the time. There are many things that I need to get done back at home still, and I am sure you are busy.”

‘I am never busy enough to help a child,’ Rapunzel wanted to say but kept her mouth shut. Eugene made her promise that she does her best to avoid raising any suspicion and once they knew what they were looking for, they were going to look into it more.

“Of course! Next time, we can even make an invention together or something. I had fun trying to come up with an invention but turns out all the ones I thought of were already invented,” Rapunzel instead said. 

A glimmer of the bright kid came back with a more genuine smile and happiness beginning to leak out. 

“Really? Y-You want to invent something with me?” Varian stuttered out amazed. “I-I can’t wait!”

“Varian. It’s getting late,” Quirin interrupted as Varian’s smile had disappeared for a second before reappearing with that same plastic smile that Rapunzel and Eugene were both growing to hate. “We don’t want to keep the Princess and her boyfriend out late.”

“A-Ah… sorry, my bad,” Varian immediately apologized without skipping a beat. “Sorry for keeping you out here so late. I hope you have a safe journey as well.”

Rapunzel wanted to reach out and hug Varian. Just steal him away and not look back… Eugene placed a hand on her shoulder before nodding back to the cart silently telling her that wouldn’t be a good idea. 

He was right…

There was nothing they could prove. 

Quirin didn’t actually do anything wrong even if they wanted to make a case, nothing said here would make for an actual case to get Varian out of that situation. 

“Right. I’ll see you later, okay Varian?”

“Yeah… see you later,” Varian said.

“Bye, Your Highness,” Quirin said before leading Varian inside of the dark and empty home…

Rapunzel and Eugene hopped back on the carriage as they began to embark on the way back home… Before she had Max pulled the carriage to a stop and pulled the carriage behind some shrubbery. 

“I can’t believe I just let that happen,” Rapunzel’s arms trembled as she gripped her arms tightly. “How could I just allow Varian to walk back into that house again? I should've grabbed him or stopped him or-”

“Rapunzel, there was nothing we could do,” Eugene gave her a sympathetic look before a smirk made a way to his face. “But I’m betting on the fact that Quirin isn’t expecting us to come back right away. Let’s go get that proof we need to get Varian out of that house.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Varian?”

Varian couldn’t help but keep his eyes glued to the floor. He wanted nothing more than the floor to open up beneath him and swallow him whole than to face the disappointment he was sure to face again. However, things were never quite as easy as that. 

“Yes, sir?”

“You didn’t tell me that you were planning to stay at the castle for long,” Quirin said with no doubt a look of disappointment written across his face.

“I-I’m sorry,” Varian apologized, chewing on the inside of his lip. Rapunzel insisted he stay every time he tried to leave as Quirin wanted him home before sundown but… “It’s my fault. I didn’t make a better attempt to leave the castle and be home at the time you wanted me to be.”

“You wanted to work on that painting?” Quirin asked as he pulled off the cover revealing the painting. It was a painting of Rapunzel and Eugene both having their arms wrapped around Varian. Rapunzel insisted that be the painting he brought back home with him despite the fact she loved it so much. “You worked on this together?”

“Yes, sir.”

Quirin let out a sigh before gently patting Varian on the head. “The painting the princess loved so much, yet she just gave it away like that?”

Varian’s blood turned to ice as his stomach churned. His hands gripped tightly to his pants as his father was right.  _ He was always right.  _

“She… she insisted that I take it,” Varian softly admitted though he felt sick for even mentioning it. As if he was suggesting it was somehow Rapunzel’s fault, when it wasn’t her fault. 

“Then, she must have not loved it as much as she claimed if she insisted that someone else took the painting that she decided to waste the entire day spending with you making it. Truly a waste of time since she didn’t even get to keep it. She could have instead done something actually worth doing. She is a princess after all. She can’t just waste all her time on you,” Quirin concluded as he set the painting propped up against the wall. He strolled back over to Varian before gently lifting his head and made his eyes meet the painting. 

“You can surely understand why she wanted to just give this painting away to someone like you,” Quirin prompted with a smile. “I know you are very intelligent.”

Varian’s body began to tremble as he stared at that painting and there was just-  _ so much blue on the canvas.  _ That wretched color. That color that stained his entire existence. He tried to tell Rapunzel that blue would ruin the painting, but nobody could stop her once she set her mind. It did come out beautiful. Varian wouldn’t deny that. A beautiful painting with Rapunzel’s and Eugene’s bodies helping to hide the filthy and dirty child that was on this masterpiece.

It was…

“It’s my fault,” Varian concluded as he couldn’t take his eyes off the painting now for an entirely different reason. At the castle, Rapunzel was beaming with an impossibly bright smile and Eugene even was getting in on the action of complimenting the painting. On the other hand, Varian couldn’t take his eyes off the painting for an entirely different reason. It was almost like they were a… family. The one thing he desired so much with his dad. 

But now? When he stared at the canvas trapped in the wooden frame, he could see the truth of the painting. It was so obvious now why Rapunzel wanted the painting gone despite her so call “love” for it. 

Step by step, Varian slowly approached the painting before he kneeled down and gripped the frame. He slowly lifted the painting blankly staring down at it.. 

“I ruined this masterpiece by being in it. I should have never been in this painting.”

Getting up, he turned and began to walk to the fireplace with the painting in hand. 

“Where are you going with the painting? I thought you wanted the painting so much?” Quirin called out but made no move to stop him.

“I can’t let anyone else see it. They will hate it all because I am in it. Even Rapunzel wanted to get rid of it,” Varian said before coming to a stop in front of the fireplace. How dare he ruined this painting? Rapunzel worked so hard on it only to be ruined by the mere fact Varian was on it. A filth and stain to this painting. 

Throwing down the painting,the frame snapped into pieces and freed the canvas. He threw the frame pieces in that were contaminated by the painting it had held. Nothing could be salvaged because it was ruined. 

Varian then grabbed the painting and stared at it once more for a few moments. The blue mockingly stared back up at him before Varian’s eyes narrowed. Gripping tightly to the canvas he ripped the painting in half destroying that garbage in the middle. But it wasn’t enough. He then followed suit by putting the pieces together into a stack and tearing it further and further into smaller and smaller pieces until he could no more and threw it into the fire.

The fire eagerly leaped at the new fuel as the flames grew even larger, pleased at the meal it was given as Varian blankly stared at the remains of the painting burning away. 

But for some reason, he was sad… sad to see a painting that was worked so hard on to just disappear like that. Tears welled up in Varian’s eyes before a tap on his shoulder made him flinch. He glanced up to see his father with his arms wide open. 

“It’s okay,” he assured.

A soft sob escaped Varian’s lips before he immediately leaped into Quirin’s arms and hugged him. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t mean it… I should have never gone to the castle,” Varian sobbed, clutching tightly to his dad. “I ruin everything.”

“I know son and it is okay.” Quirin lovingly rubbed him on the back despite the fact it hurts so much. His back was still covered in bruises- but it was okay. His dad was just trying to show him love. 

Varian couldn’t help but cry even harder. “I don’t deserve it. I-I don’t deserve your love or anything. I-I’m so sorry for being so selfish. I’m so sorry Dad.”

“It’s okay,” Quirin assured, hugging him tighter and gently patted his head. “I know you are a disappointment and selfish and a filthy mess… but it’s okay but I still love you.”

“D-Dad…”

The door suddenly slammed open, startling both Varian and Quirin as they instinctively broke apart in shock. 

What the? Varian snapped his head over to the door to see Rapunzel and Eugene standing there? There was Max and Pascal there too??

“R-Rapunzel?” Varian couldn’t help but stutter out in confusion. He didn’t even get a chance to formulate a question before Rapunzel threw her hair and it wrapped around his body. She gave a sharp tug dragging him over to them. He stumbled but barely managed to keep on his feet before landing in Eugene’s arms- which the ex thief didn’t hesitate to wrap around Varian. “Eugene?”

What was going on?

Why were they here? 

What did he do to warrant them suddenly appearing like this?

Varian’s brain racked for answers but he couldn’t formulate a single solution. All he knew that this was his fault- again. 

“Don’t worry kid, we are getting you out of here,” Eugene assured. 

Varian couldn’t help but feel confused. Get out? What did he mean? Varian was perfectly safe. His dad was here and protecting him. Quirin loves him and he is trying his best. 

“W-What?” he stuttered out, trying to ask but his mouth refused to properly function to formulate an actual question. 

“Eugene. Take him away,” Rapunzel said, clutching tightly to a frying pan and looked like she was about to take down an enemy.

Varian’s heart instantly sunk as a suddenly chill washed over him as if he was dropped into freezing cold waters. They were going to take him away?

“N-No!” Varian shouted and quickly stumbled away from Eugene’s grasp. He couldn’t help as his body began to tremble before glancing between his dad and the intruders. 

“Your Highness. What is going on?” Quirin asked as he stood up with a smile and concern written across his face. 

“Drop the act!” Eugene shouted as Varian flinched as the tears welled up in his eyes. They were yelling... “We see right through it! This whole nice father thing? It’s just a lie. You are abusing Varian!”

“Is that so? And what proof do you have?” Quirin asked.

“The bruises and cuts-”

“Were never done by me,” Quirin finished Rapunzel’s sentence before glancing at Varian with a patient smile. “Right, Varian?”

Varian’s eyes widened before he nodded eagerly, quick to defend his dad.

“Y-Yes, sir! Dad never hit me or anything,” Varian admitted. He didn’t want them to get the wrong idea! His dad was the one who protected him! His dad didn’t hit him!

“Then who did it?” Rapunzel asked, giving his dad an accusatory stare. 

“The other villagers,” Quirin truthfully replied “I’ve tried telling them to stop so many times, but they keep on attacking my son.”

“I-Its true!” Varian added though the look on Rapunzel’s face made him regret his words and shrink in fear. She looked furious. 

“If you were really as a loving and caring father, you would have done more to make them stop. You are the village leader after all,” she pointed out as angry slipped into her tone. 

“Besides, this whole thing of twisting and turning everything against Varian is just wrong,” Eugene growled in a tone he never heard before. “He didn’t do anything to deserve this! He tore up that painting he worked so hard on with Rapunzel! You made him think that Rapunzel didn’t want the painting because Varian was in it! That’s a complete lie!”

“We wanted to give the painting to him as a gift so he is reminded that we love him- not because we hated it,” Rapunzel replied as her eyes narrowed. “And we saw his room. It is pretty bare as there aren't many things there. I don’t even see the award from the Science Expo there. Did you make Varian do that to.”

“D-Dad didn’t do anything! I-It was my fault!” Varian insisted despite the fear coursing through his entire body. “He didn’t make me do anything. I choose to tear up the ribbon and destroy the painting.”

“Yeah you may have done that,” Eugene said before crossing his arms across his chest. “But who made you think that way? Who made you think you aren’t worth it? That you aren’t worthy of love?”

Varian flinched as he tried to find his voice but he couldn’t. Tears were streaking down his face before Eugene walked over and grabbed his wrist. 

“Come on. We are taking you out of here and away from…  _ that disgusting monster _ ,” Eugene spat out.

Monster? His dad was anything from a monster. 

“No… No!” Varian screamed before he struggled against Eugene’s grip but Eugene was more prepared for him this time. He held fast and Varian couldn’t escape as easily this time. More tears spilled from his eyes as he knew that Eugene would hate him for doing this… if he didn’t already hate him. 

But he couldn’t lose his dad.

Reeling back his fist, Varian punched Eugene in the throat as hard as he could. Taken off guard, Eugene let go of Varian as he hunched over coughing. 

“Eugene!” Rapunzel cried out, rushing over to Eugene- not that Varian paid attention. 

“Dad!” Varian sprinted across the room and quickly hugged his dad tightly, not wanting to let go. “P-Please Dad! D-Don’t let them take me away. I-I don’t want to leave you. Please… I can’t lose you,” Varian begged between sobs. “I’ll do anything just please… don’t let them take me away.”

“It’s not up to me,” Quirin said, hugging Varian and gently patting him on the head as he stared up at the Princess with a smile. “It’s up to Princess Rapunzel. I can’t defy their orders after all. That would be treason. If they want to take you away, then I can’t do anything about it.”

Varian’s heart dropped as he turned to Rapunzel desperate. He  _ needed _ his dad. Without his dad, he would be lost and there would be nobody left. His dad was the only one who loves him. The only one who could love him no matter what happens. He… he couldn’t lose that.

“Rapunzel… Please… Please don’t take my dad away from me,” Varian begged. “Please… he is all I have. My dad loves despite how much of a screw up I am… Please don’t take him away from me.”

“Kid… this…” Eugene tried to find the words as Rapunzel covered his mouth and her body was trembling. Tears began to well up in her eyes. 

They were going to take him away from his dad. 

They were going to take him away from the one person who loves him.

And his dad could do nothing to stop them. 

A sense of numbness spread through his body as he abruptly stood up and walked to in front of of the fireplace. His hand wrapped the fire poker as a sudden surge of braveness began to flow through his body. It should do. Even he could do it. It wasn’t that hard. He then turned to his father with a smile on his face.

“Hey dad... if they try to take me away, is it okay if I kill myself?” Varian asked with a bright smile. There would be nothing left for him anyways. He would be dead anyways if they took his dad away.

“V-Varian…” Rapunzel gasped in complete horror..

“That will be quite the cleanup,” Quirin let out a sigh before smiling and placing a hand on Varian’s shoulder. “But if that’s what makes you happy...”

His heart surged with happiness, and there a small flutter in his chest. 

“Thank you dad~! You are the best!” Varian beamed brightly at his father as if he was given the best present ever. 

Eugene and Rapunzel were frozen in place at how casually Varian had suggested to simply die if he was to be taken away from his father and the fact Quirin just happily agreed along to it though pointed out that it would cause  _ him  _ problems!

It made them sick and truly cemented how far Quirin had Varian wrapped around his finger and how completely warped he twisted Varian’s mind for a kid-  _ a kid! _ \- to suggest this! That’s how little Varian actually cared about his own life. 

Eugene glanced at Rapunzel as she stood there trembling. 

“Mother…” a soft whisper escaped her lips as Eugene couldn’t help but tense up even further.

Right… This is the exact kind of treatment Rapunzel had received back in the Tower. She never went into detail how deep Gothel’s treatment affected her but it clearly left scars on her heart and mind. It may have not been exactly like this, but it clearly hit too close to home for the princess. Rapunzel wouldn’t be able to help this time. 

This meant he needed to step in. 

He had to step in before Varian does something that can’t be undone. 

Forcing himself to feign a smile and his usual upbeat attitude, Eugene held his hands up before forcing himself to let out laughter.

“OH Varian, you are being so dramatic! We were kidding!” he lied. He needed to get Varian away but he couldn’t risk Varian following through with what he exactly was suggesting. “You see, this is all just a… prank! Yeah! Stop getting so serious!” 

“A-A prank?” Varian stuttered as he lowered the fire poker before his eyes narrowed full of distrust. “Y-You’re lying!”

“It’s true! Why else do you think we came back and were hiding? Of course, it’s a prank, silly! We wanted to surprise you! It wouldn’t work if you didn’t think we were coming” Eugene insisted spinning his web of lies. He had to force down a grimace as he was about to hate himself for what he was about to do. He had no choice... “Even your dad knew too! Right, Quirin?”

“Dad knew too?” Varian repeated as he turned to Quirin with his guard completely lowered. “You set up this prank with them?”

At first Quirin didn’t say anything and most likely was debating his options. However, Eugene was gambling on the fact that he would go in favor of backing him up. For whatever reason, there was some sort of twisted love Quirin had for Varian. If he truly didn’t love Varian at all, Eugene was sure that Varian wouldn’t be here if that was the case.

Besides no matter what Eugene said, Varian would trust his dad’s words over their’s any day. Quirin made that perfectly clear that Varian was unhealthily attached to him no matter what abusive words and treatment was thrown his way. As much as he hated it, Eugene had to rely on Quirin for his help to stop Varian even if it wasn’t the ideal way he wanted to go about this. But his main focus and priority right now was making sure that Varian was first and foremost alive. 

However, Quirin still had yet to say a word. He simply stared at Varian and Varian getting restless as doubt clearly began to flood his mind. The child’s hand gripping the fire poker began to tremble as he slowly began to raise it once more.

_ Come on! _

He didn’t make the wrong bet right?! 

A soft chuckle began to fill the room catching everyone off guard as Quirin smiled fondly at Varian before ruffling his hair. 

“That’s right. It’s just a prank,” Quirin played along with the lie much to Eugene’s relief. “Now look at what you did. Worrying poor the Princess and her boyfriend like that.”

“O-Oh…” Varian grip slowly began to loosen fire poker before he began to wipe his tears away with his free hand. “You mean that they really aren’t going to take me away?”

“Well?” Quirin threw the question back at Eugene, adding salt to the wounds. The smile may seem friendly, but it was nothing more than a sadistic smile taking pleasure in the fact that Eugene’s hands were tied. Not to mention, he clearly wanted Eugene to admit his defeat in this position and Euge hated it so much. 

“Of course not. Like we said. It’s a prank,” Eugene repeated despite the sting of defeat. “We aren’t taking you away from your dad.”

_ Clang! _

The metal rod fell to the ground as a sob of relief escaped Varian’s lips. 

“T-Thank god…” he sobbed before wiping his tears away as best as could but it was failing. “I-I’m so sorry! I’m sorry for overreacting and taking your prank the wrong way… Sorry for causing distress to Rapunzel and you.”

Eugene had to force himself not to tell Varian that it wasn’t his fault. He had to be very careful. They made a mistake and handled the situation the wrong way and nearly caused the kid to-... Eugene grimaced at the mere thought. They should have thought this through but seeing the look on Varian’s face after he destroyed the painting… they had immediately stormed in without a second thought. The look of complete and utter emptiness with tears in his eyes… They couldn’t just stand by any more and rushed in. 

“It’s alright! I would have made the same mistake!”  _ No he wouldn’t.  _ “Didn’t you think it was weird that we brought an entire carriage for a single painting?”

Varian blinked before slowly nodding his head. “Yeah… but I didn’t want to question it.” 

“That’s because-”  _ Think Eugene! _ Get him out of the house and someplace safe. Anything. Just anything. “We are having a sleepover at the castle and we needed to get all your things!”

Eugene nudged Max with a serious look on his face and whispered in a low voice.  _ “Get the carriage and get back here as fast as possible.” _

Max gave a nod before quickly exiting out of the room with Pascal in tow. 

“We couldn’t exactly carry everything back. We would get tired before we could even reach the castle,” Eugene continued to lie and lie. He never thought he would hate lying as much as he did now or be using it to save someone’s life but here he was. “But since we wanted to tease you, we played this prank as a surprise to tell you!”

“O-Oh… _ OH _ !” Varian gasped, clearly coming to the wrong conclusion because of Eugene’s lies. “I see! Of course, that’s what you meant! That is obvious! You were playing a joke to surprise me with the sleepover! I’m sorry for not realizing it.”

Varian smiled brightly at them and Eugene for once hated Varian’s genuinely happy smile.

“Yes exactly!” Eugene said glancing over at Quirin who didn’t say a word this entire time which made him grow suspicious of him. What was he even planning? But for now, Eugene was grateful that Quirin didn’t speak a single word of protest. “Why don’t you take Rapunzel up to your room and she can help you pack. It's going to be one long sleepover!”

“A sleepover! Woo!” Varian cheered with a smile despite some tears in his eyes still. “I never had a sleepover before!” He ran up to Rapunzel before grasping her hands and beaming up at her. “Come on! Let’s go pack!” 

Rapunzel took a few moments snapping out of her own memories before she let out a small sniffle and nodded her head. 

“Of course, Varian. Let’s go pack.”

Varian excitedly dragged Rapunzel out of the room clearly eager for the  _ “sleepover” _ before it fell silent in the room once more.

Now, it was just Eugene and Quirin.

“I’m not going to allow you to hurt him anymore,” Eugene vowed, glaring at him. 

“Yet you hurt him just now, didn’t you?” Quirin pointed out with a patient smile as he reached for the fire poker on the floor and picked it up. Eugene flinched as Quirin slowly stood up and he became fully aware of how much larger and bigger Quirin was compared to him. “You nearly drove him to commit suicide. You would have had a child’s death on your hands if I didn’t help you.”

“That’s your fault!” Eugene snapped. “Varian thinks so lowly of himself and doesn’t think he is worth anything because of you! Hell, he has no regard or value in his own life because of you!”

“Yet he is still alive, isn’t he?” Quirin pointed out, clearly knowing he had the upper hand. “You know, he has never attempted such an extreme action before. There were plenty of times where he could have, but he never did. I left him alone to get clean up in the bathroom where he could drown himself. Or mind you, he could even burn the entire house down. Even his bedroom has a window and it’s just tall enough that if he falls the right way, he could die that way. There are knives in the kitchen and so many things he could do to the deed, yet-  _ he never did _ .” His grin grew to be much darker as he leaned towering over the former thief. “Then, you two come here deciding what is best for him and nearly got him killed? You should have really thought things through before taking action.”

Eugene felt sick and wanted to throw up. Was this how it was to be on the opposite end of twisted manipulation? Was this how Rapunzel and Varian felt to be standing in the face of words you cannot deny? Words that rubbed salt into wounds and yet couldn’t even formulate a good counter to?

“Why are you telling me this? It sounds like you actually care about him,” Eugene instead chose to ask. “You are the one who told him that it was okay for him if he dies.”

“I never said that,” Quirin’s eyes narrowed as he stood up straight to his full height and almost as if he was glaring down at Eugene. He then let out a sigh before he turned away and placed the fire poker back in its place “I actually would prefer if he stays alive. If you didn’t say anything, I would have stepped in regardless of what you two did and stop him.”

Eugene was completely taken off guard by that statement. Quirin would have stepped in. Sure, Eugene was betting on the fact Quirin would side with him-  _ but not on the fact Quirin would actually stop him regardless of whether Eugene spoke up or not.  _

“Why?” Eugene couldn’t help but ask, admittingly confused. 

A smile grew on his face as Quirin turned his back to Eugene and slipped off his glove taking a few moments to stare at the symbol on his hand. He then slipped his glove back on and turned to Eugene with an actual genuine smile on his face.

“Because I love Varian very much. After all, he is my one and only precious son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is so far what I have written up already. I'll come back to this when I get the chance to or the mood, but let me know what you think anyways. I hope you guys enjoyed it.


	4. Chapter 4

_Clutching to a blue blanket, a small Varian had stumbled down the stairs with an eager smile on his face. Today, Dad promised to spend the entire day with him!_

_He couldn’t wait!_

_He stumbled down to the bottom of the stairs to see his mom standing at the doorway._

_“Mommy?” Varian called out to her as her eyes widen._

_“Sweetie! What are you doing up so early?” She gasped._

_“Couwdn’t sweep,” Varian replied before grinning up at her with big chubby cheeks. He then tilted his head in confusion. “Mommy? Where are you going?”_

_She blinked before kneeling down and smiling brightly at him._

_“Mommy is going on an adventure.”_

_Varian gasped and covered his mouth in amazement._

_An adventure?!?_

_“Wike Fwynn Wider!?!” Varian eagerly bounced. “Can I come?”_

_She let out a laugh and snorted. “No silly. You can’t come with Mommy,” she shook her head._

_“Aww...” Varian hung his head in disappointment. “Adventuwe...”_

_“Didn’t you promise Daddy that you were going to spend the whole day with him?” she asked._

_“Yeah!” He nodded his head. “B-But adventuwe!”_

_“Now Varian, it’s no good to break promises,” she scolded. “You shouldn’t break your promises especially if you love them. You do love Daddy right?”_

_“I wove him thisssssss-“ Varian spread out his arms as wide as possible and ended up standing on the tips of his toes to somehow make it even bigger. “-much!”_

_She let out a snort before nodding her head. “And Daddy loves you even more,” she said. “Maybe when you are older, you can come with me next time.”_

_“Reawwy?! I-I can come with?” His big wide eyes shone like stars as he stared up at his mom._

_“Of course!” She affirmed with a nod of her head before pulling off the goggles on her head and placed on it his- though they were a bit too bit._

_Varian didn’t mind though. He was much too happy about this._

_“How about this. You can hold onto these pair of goggles for me and when you get older and prove you are ready, I’ll take you along with me,” she suggested._

_“You wiww!?” Varian gasped._

_“Of course. I promise.” She held out her pinky finger and Varian eagerly wrapped his pinky finger around hers._

_“Okay Mommy!”_

_“Don’t forget sweetheart,” she said smiling at him. “Dream big. Don’t lose faith. Don’t lose hope. Everything will be alright because everything you need is right-“ She reached out and touched his chest. “In here.”_

_She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead to which he instinctively let out a giggle and a small “Ew Mommy!”_

_She smiled at him before standing up once more and turning away._

_“Bye my little Polaris.”_

_“Bye Mommy!” He smiled waving goodbye to her before the door closed._

* * *

Varian let out a gasp as he shot straight up before letting out a hiss of pain instantly regretting his decision. 

Bad idea to do that when his wounds weren’t exactly all healed up.

His heart raced as the dream lingered in his head before Varian let out a sigh. Resting an arm over his eyes, he laid back down and closed his eyes. 

A memory of his mom... No... _It was m_ _ore like a nightmare._

Any dream with mom was a nightmare. He hates when he dreamt about mom. He was sure of it when his chest tightened and his heart began to ache. It always gave him false hopes and dreams like that cursed color. Besides, she was always wrong, unlike dad. 

In the end, it didn’t matter because she wasn’t here. Varian could only hope he didn’t dream about her again. 

He slowly opened his eyes in no desire to sleep again and risk dreaming as he stared up at the high ceiling. 

Wait a second.

Shooting back up- this time making sure to be more careful of his injuries-, Varian confirmed that yep- he wasn’t in his room. In fact, he was sleeping on the floor on a large blanket laid out on the floor with an additional smaller blanket and a pillow? 

He glanced around before spotting Rapunzel, Eugene, and Pascal sleeping on the floor with him. 

His brain had to take a few moments to process the sight before it clicked. 

Right. Sleepover. He was at a sleepover. 

They made it back to the castle to which Eugene had promptly escorted him to Rapunzel’s bedroom (as it was the largest to allow this kind of activity) and they quickly made a makeshift type of bed. 

Varian didn’t even realize he was tired as he laid down intending on waiting for Rapunzel to join them, but he passed out of pure exhaustion before she could. 

He was going to apologize to her later about that...

He glanced outside to see the sun hadn’t even come up which was a perfectly normal occurrence for Varian to get up before the sun even began to peek above the horizon. He was the son of a farmer after all. Not to mention, it gave Varian a proper chance to tend to himself. 

Quietly, he pushed himself up with a small yawn. He grabbed his bag full of his things and headed to the bathroom. Thank god he asked for where it was yesterday. This meant he could tend to himself before they woke up. 

Slipping inside the bathroom, he made sure to lock the door before slipping his shirt off. They were healing up alright, but nothing he could warrant wasting bandages on himself.

They are healing well enough and besides, he wasn’t in Old Corona so he didn’t need to actually make sure to attend his wounds. They wouldn’t risk reopening here since he wouldn’t have to face the other villager’s wrath. They could heal up just fine as long as he makes sure they are kept clean. Easy Peasie. 

At least the cuts had closed and he didn’t have to worry about bleeding while at the castle. That would have been a pain to deal with. Not to mention the mess... that would be the worst part. 

A small sign escaped his lips as he changed his clothes into another set of the wretched blue clothes. Staring at himself in the mirror, making sure he looked well for today. He washed off the makeup before checking his face as well. Yep. Just as he thought. He still needs the makeup today to hide the bruises and cuts on his face. The cuts luckily seemed to have healed but it hasn’t completely disappeared yet. It’s not like it mattered to the various scars and marks that were littered across his body.

Pulling out a small container, Varian quickly reapplied the makeup making his wounds disappear from sight. 

There. 

All better now. 

_‘Is it truly better?’_ a soft voice whispered from the back of his mind. _‘Rapunzel and Eugene... They know the truth. They know how worthless you are.’_

Varian couldn’t help but lower his head clutching his arm. He can’t deny that is the truth. 

They saw that side of him. The side he didn’t want anyone to see… The side that really showed how worthless he was. 

Slowly lifting his head, his blue— that terrible shade of blue— eyes stared back at him from the mirror. A bitter taste flooded his mouth before grabbing his bag and storming out of the bathroom. 

Varian can’t believe he made this mistake. 

Why did he even bother coming anyways?

He knew they didn't actually want him here after his little fit. He was unreasonable and acted like such a child. They only were taking pity on him- no... they were only doing this because of how much of a fit he threw. He was being such a hassle to Rapunzel and Eugene. It’s no wonder they looked the way they did when they came to pick him up for this sleepover. 

They didn’t want him here. 

It was fine before they knew that side of him existed. They probably thought he was as worthless and pathetic like everyone else did... Just someone who ruins everything just by existing. 

Varian clenched his teeth and his hands curled up into tight fists. 

He shouldn’t be here. 

There was no reason he should be such a burden to the Princess and-

His train of thought was cut off as he crashed into something sending him stumbling backward and before falling onto the ground. He couldn’t help as a let out a small hiss of pain mostly from the irritation to his wounds than the fall itself. He should have been paying attention to where he was going… 

“Ah, sorry about that- Varian?” 

The alchemist couldn’t help but take a pause as a smile grew on his face and he met a familiar face beaming at her. 

“Heya Cassie!” 

“W-What? Varian... I...” Cassandra stammered in confusion as she stared down at him in disbelief. Well, he couldn’t blame her. He normally would be in Old Corona anyways. 

“Oh! Rapunzel invited me over for a sleepover,” he said, clutching the straps of his bag far too happy now. Cassandra was here! She wasn’t like Rapunzel and Eugene. 

She is different from them.

Even when she saw him screw up and mess up, she showed him genuine kindness despite knowing how much of a mess up he is. She even _saved_ someone like him when he was in danger. Cassandra was so strong and kind. She even called him a friend.

He never had a friend before.

“What are you doing?” He couldn’t help but ask eyeing the blue handmaiden dress. 

“Doing some morning chores before waking up Raps,” Cassandra replied in a clear unamused tone before crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. She then pointed to the bag. “What’s with the bag?”

“I went to the bathroom to freshen up,” Varian admitted rubbing the back of his neck. He wanted to spend more time with Cassandra, but he didn’t want her to stop all of her work because of him... then it hit him. “Oh! Oh! Cassie! Can I help you with your chores? We can be Co-Ladies in Waiting again!”

He stared up at her more than eager to help her out. 

She let out a snort and her lips curled into an amused smirk. 

“Oh? You want to be a Lady-in-Waiting again? You sure you want that label?” She teased. 

“It’s Co-Lady in Waiting,” Varian corrected with a grin. “There’s a difference.”

Cassandra rolled her eyes before brushing past him and gestured with a nod of her head. 

“Come on, then Mister ‘Co-Lady in Waiting.’ We have chores to attend to.”

Varian’s heart soared with joy as his smile grew even wider. 

“Okay!”

Varian shadowed Cassandra as he followed her around the castle helping her with a variety of chores. Similar to the day of the expo, they sped through the variety of chores except for one...

“We are going to make sure the floors are dry this time,” Cassandra told him as she handed him a dry mop. 

Varian shrugged and went to work making sure the floor was dry. 

“You really are good at this kind of stuff. I’m surprised,” Cassandra admitted as she dried the floors. “I wouldn’t take you as the type.”

“I had to learn,” Varian admitted as he continued to dry the floor as he settled back into that familiar and comfortable mindset. “When your dad is the village leader, he doesn’t really have time to waste cleaning. I had to learn how to clean fast and effectively.” 

Cassandra paused from her mopping before sparing a glance at Varian. 

“What about your mother?”

Varian’s eyes widen as his body locked up. His feet were glued to the ground as his grip on the mop tightened. A bitter taste flooded his mouth as he glanced down unable to meet Cassandra’s gaze. 

“She’s... gone. She passed away when I was little.”

Cassandra’s eyes widened before she lowered her head. 

Varian couldn’t look at her before forcing himself to stiffly continue to dry the floor. 

_‘You heard didn’t you? His mother ran away and left them behind.’_

_‘It’s no wonder. After all, that thing is in that house. I would leave too if someone like him was my kid.’_

_‘I heard she killed herself due to how miserable she was having him.’_

His eyes slowly began to glaze over as he felt his body begin to loosen as the words of the villagers echoed in his head. 

_‘Mom...’_

Everything was fine until she left...

“If it makes you feel better, I don’t know my own parents,” Cassandra’s voice dragged him out of the endless droning of voices that haunted him. “In fact, I don’t know what happened to them... but they never came back for me. Even when I was adopted by the Captain, I didn’t have a mother either.”

Varian couldn’t help but stare at Cassandra. He opened his mouth to say something but found he couldn’t find his voice. Instead, he glanced down and continued to dry the floor. 

“I’m not saying it to try to one-up you on tragic backstories,” Cassandra said as she continued to mop. “I just wanted to let you know that I know what it’s like to be in your shoes.”

She quietly went back to drying the floors, and he followed suit. A comforting silence filled the room as they dried the floors.

Honestly, the words didn’t bring him despair or get him down... it brought a strange sense of comforting. 

_'At least I’m not the only one who was an unwanted child...'_

Varian blinked before shaking his head and scolding himself. 

No no. His dad loves him. He can’t just leave his dad either. His dad selflessly takes care of him and makes sure he is okay every single day. And if it was a really good day, his dad would tend to his wounds and make an apple pie for dessert. 

A smile grew on his face as he returned to drying the floors thinking of how he worked hard to become good at cleaning just so he can repay his dad’s kindness back even just a little bit. He never deserved his dad’s kindness. A worthless child like himself could never deserve kindness from someone like his father. He had to step up ever since his mom left and never came back.

His blue eyes caught a glimpse of Cass who was focused on the task at hand.

“... Thank you, Cass,” his voice softly echoed in the room.

“You’re welcome, Varian.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! An update after months. This really isn't high on my priority of fics to write or update on, but it's nice to come back to it in a weird sort of way. And wow?! A 100 kudos on a fic that I sort of threw together? That's amazing!  
> Anyways, I do wanna talk a lil about Varian and Cass real quick. In this particular fic, Varian doesn't actually have a crush on Cass. Rather, he has a sort of admiration and views her in a similar way as he ironically does with his dad. It's not exactly the same, but he does want to impress her in a way that's like he does with his dad. Repay her for helping someone like him out. That sort of thing.  
> Also, even though Rapunzel and Eugene may have taken Varian from the abusive home, it doesn't mean Varian is willing to stay away from his home either. He kinda is still in that bad mindset and the seeds of abuse are still sewn deep inside of him.  
> But anyways, I hope you like this chapter. I'll try to come back to it again soon for another update. I already have an idea of what to write about next at least.


End file.
